Low supply in day, engorged at night

Growingapepper

I'm having a problem keeping my supply up during the day. I breastfeed and pump every 3-4 hours during the night and breasts are completely engorged. As soon as I wake up for the day (with engorged breasts) I will pump/nurse. But from that point on my supply is super low until I go back to sleep for the night, and the cycle continues. I have to get the bottles out that I pumped during the night to feed her with during the day. I continue to pump throughout the day, too, so I'm confused why this is happening and I don't know how to fix it. I drink mother's milk tea and stay super hydrated.

jen83mn

How do you know baby isn't getting fed enough during the day from breastfeeding? Can you tell nothing is coming out or not hear her swallowing?

Growingapepper

jen83mn said:

How do you know baby isn't getting fed enough during the day from breastfeeding? Can you tell nothing is coming out or not hear her swallowing?

Because I can tell when nothing is coming out and when I'm emty. Plus she starts to get super frustrated and continues with hunger signs and eventually cries until I can get a bottle heated up for her.

Growingapepper

We don't have that problem during nighttime feedings when my supply is up.

kmcshane0211

Just because you're not engorged doesn't mean you're empty. Engorgement is an oversupply. So, that will eventually go away at night too.

Growingapepper

kmcshane0211 said:

Just because you're not engorged doesn't mean you're empty. Engorgement is an oversupply. So, that will eventually go away at night too.

I know that engorged feeling is supposed to go away, but for me it never will because I have large breast implants and very little natural breast tissue. I can feel every duct even when I'm empty. I am not basing my assessment of my supply strictly on the fact that I'm engorged at night and not during the day. Like I said before, LO eats and is satisfied at night. She drains one breast and I bottle the rest from my other. Then during the day she can't get enough, she nurses both sides but usually isnt satisfied and ends up getting frustrated, crying and punching at my breasts for more. Luckily I have what I pumped from at night to satiate her during the day.
I don't mean this to sound rude, truly, I'm just trying to get the help I need...
But I dont need help determining if my supply is actually low or not. I'm aware of what's normal and expected, and I am especially aware of my own body and how it's functioning. If you could just take my word that my supply actually is plummeting during the day and please help me figure out how to increase it. I'm hydrating, drinking mother's milk, and pumping after feedings but they don't seem to be helping. I've been at this routine for a few weeks and I don't know what else to try other than supplements. I'd like to not have to rely on a supplement and try to get things established a little more naturally. Any suggestions?

Petunia21

I have the same issue. I have to use my leftover milk from the evening to feed him the next day. I had been routinely power pumping at night so I'm thinking that's why my supply was higher at night. I am trying to find time to power pump in the morning to get my morning supply up as well.

v1wwo

I'm about the same when it comes to supply during the day and night.
At night I can pump 6-8oz and during the day that drops down to 3-4oz.
Luckily, my baby does not eat much at night so the milk usually goes in to the refrigerator.
I will try to power pump in the evening or in the morning and see if I can get the milk up.
Have you taken a longer nap during the day and if so did your milk supply go up?

buckleyk

Now that I'm back to work and pumping 3x a day, I've noticed the same thing. I usually get the most first thing and a little less each time. I think I read somewhere that it's at night that your milk replenishes itself which is probably why you feel more engoreged then.

You could try pumping after each feeding- make sure you're totally empty to signal your body to keep producing. Nurse on both sides (I can't remember if you said you do that already). I've been having a bowl of oatmeal each morning and a glass of Gatorade which is supposed to help. You may also want to let the baby nurse, offer a few sips of the bottle when she becomes frustrated and then see if she'll latch back on and try to nurse some more or take the other side. Skins- to- skin is supposed to help.

Is this a new problem or has it always been this way? How much do you pump after a feeding? You could also consider seeing a lactation consultant to do a weighted feed and see how much baby is able to remove during a feeding. You sound confident the issue is caused by your supply but it could be baby is having a tough time transferring milk.

stumpty

I agree with pp. pump after each feeding during the day. I know it's hard to find time but power pumping is also a big helper. Feeding our LO can be so stressful! Good luck!

cmlsu

I have the same issue. I let her nurse for 45 minutes and then offered her a bottle and she ate 5ozs, so I know she didn't get anything from me. However, she gets plenty in the morning and evening, it's just the afternoon. My pedi recommended trying to stretch the time by helping her with a long nap in the afternoon to allow time to replenish. What I did was let her nurse on one side as long as she wanted for a few days in the afternoon and then supplement her when she would get too frustrated. After a few days of that, I think my supply regulated itself because she didn't need the supplement anymore. It would give time for the other side to replenish while stimulating more production. Hope you find what works for you!

Growingapepper

I will definitely have to try the nap thing @v1wwo could always use some more sleep lol and what a great excuse.
@buckleyk this is a relatively new problem, been going on for like 2 or 3 weeks. After nursing in the day I would get maybe 1/2 oz after 15 mins of pumping.
However I just tried feeding her from the bottle and then trying to get her to latch again. I could never get her to continue nursing before after I emptied so I would just pump. But this seems to be working well, I think her actually nursing instead of pumping will make a big difference.

buckleyk

Yay!! I'm glad that worked!! I used that trick with my first. He was in the NICU and it took forever for my milk to come in and we had to supplement. Evntually he came to expect a bottle after each feeding so we went from bottle/ breast like that to help wean him from that.

I think the more you can nurse her the better! Babies are more efficient than the pump, plus the skin to skin time should help too. Even if she's just nursing for comfort, I'd let her nurse as often and as long as she'd like. Power pumping is good too.

Also, make sure your not losing weight too rapidly. 1lb a week is safe for breastfeeding. You need the extra body fat and calories to keep producing. I've have some friends who were able to drop it all and still BF but I didn't lose the last 8-10lbs until I stopped with my first.